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Alan Harking
'''Alan Harking '''is a character in Book 1. He is the younger brother of Richard Harking, although the two brothers don't have a very good relationship with each other. Alan is sleazy and selfish, as well as cowardly, though when cornered, he can be brave for his own sake. After leaving the family, he recently returned, after a business deal in Oldtown went sour, forcing him into hiding. Background Alan Harking was born as the younger child of a war hero, a soldier from the Reach who has retired on a small farm near Raylansfair. The family was surprisingly rich and Alan grew up close to his brother, Richard. At a time, the brothers have even been close friends However, he always showed a worrying greed. When their father died, Alan used his charm to con Richard out of most of his lawful inheritance, taking all the money and leaving Richard with a farm that had become near worthless. This left his older brother, now a father of four children, in a very dire situation. As a result of this con, Richard was left very poor and unable to provide for his family. During the last winter, a particularly hard one, his wife, Erma, starved to death, indirectly a result of Alan's actions. Meanwhile, Alan fled from Raylansfair, to avoid his brother's anger. He settled down in Oldtown, where he became a businessman of sorts. Never showing a shred of morals, he was willing to invest into the various crimelords of the city, a deal that was lucrative for a while. Things went sour for him when Butterfly entered the fray. The new crimelord was initially also supported by Alan, or at least he tried to invest in him. However, Butterfly's radical fight against crime saw Alan losing most of his customers, with only the Burned Man remaining. As a result of this, Alan lost a major part of his fortune. It came as it had to come, with Alan being unable to repay debts to some people working close with the Solvers. Facing dire consequences, he chose to flee Oldtown, turning back to the family he had once abandoned. Book 1 We Write History Alan makes his return to Raylansfair shortly after Richard has been attacked and left for dead by Clayton Teryl. Surviving only due to the mercy of Clayton's companion Kersea Catelins, he makes his way back to his farm, where he encounters Alan. The reunion between the brothers is less than warm, with Richard being instantly annoyed and angered by Alan's presence. However, the experienced con-man manages to charm Richard into allowing him to stay at his farm. In return, Richard forces Alan to assist him in saving his daughter Jenna, whom he suspects to be in danger. The two make their way to the castle, with Alan being armed with a pitchfork. He is present when Richard teamed up with the guardswoman Nora, making several inappropriate comments about her and implying a certain attraction. Later on, he tries to confront Kersea, only to be easily beaten down by her. As a result of this, he decides to remain in the background during Richard's fight with Wolfius Woodbark. Butterfly After the rescue of Jenna, Alan finds himself more or less forced to accompany his brother and niece to a meeting with Philip Loren, Urid Strad and Lyria Mettel. There, he disapproves of their plans to confront Wolfius, calling them mad and eventually refusing to follow them into any scheme, instead preferring to look out solely for himself. The Iron Price While his brother prepare an ambush for Wolfius, Alan remains true to his promise and stays at the tavern instead. He tries to flirt with the barmaid Ilish Granver, though is not successful at that. Instead, she even ends up stealing his last coin after he makes one too many inappropriate comments about her. Sulking about being disrespected and due to what he appeared to be a highly unfair lot in life, Alan becomes quick drinking buddies with the fellow misantrophes Marak and Irving. They blame the women in their lives, with Alan blaming Jenna for his recent misfortune, as he shows support and sympathy for the plight of his companions. What Is Dead May Never Die During the early stages of the Raid on Raylansfair, Richard brings the wounded Hal Recton to his farm, where he once again encounters Alan, who is trying to hide from the approaching bandits, led by Bear. Scolding Richard for his soft heart, he blames him for putting them both in danger by helping Hal, something that should prove to be true when two bandits decide to check out the farm, encountering the three men in hiding. It was there that Alan shows a moment of surprising bravery, as he defends himself and Richard from the attackers, killing them both by surprise. However, his cowardice shines through when, instead of helping Richard and Hal to escape, he flees after spotting more bandits approaching the farmhouse. Valar Dohaeris Alan survives the raid by hiding in the forest and eventually making his way back to the farmhouse. He is reunited with Richard, who brings a wounded Kersea Catelins to the farm. Initially attracted to her, Alan does not recognize her as the woman he had fought against a few weeks earlier. However, he still protests against keeping her in the house, particularly as she had to rest in the sole available room, which had been his until then. His opinion on their new guest soures further when he learns of her backstory, after which he outright asks Richard to throw her out. To his dismay, another guest arrives at the farm shortly afterwards, when Jenna returns from the castle, bringing the knight Leonard Constantine with her, whom she urges her father to keep at the farm as well, to protect him from the new rulers of Raylansfair. Book 2 Fires Far In the months following the raid, Alan continues to live in Richard's house, making no attempt to move out, despite stating his vocal disapproval of their new guests. He himself spends more and more time at the city tavern, something his brother is not too happy about. Particularly due to the prolonged stay of Kersea and Leonard at the farm, Alan becomes increasingly hostile and belligerent. One night, after Alan returns from the tavern to find Richard and Mathea treating Kersea's injuries, he confronts his brother, to which Richard snaps. Rightfully blaming him for the stuff he did, he ends up throwing Alan out of the house, due to his increasing hostility and to make sure that Kersea and Leonard would remain safe. Alan, shocked about the confrontation, complies and leaves. However, he does not give up. Bitter about the humiliation, he makes the fateful decision to reveal Leonard and Kersea's location to Maron Mullendore. In exchange, he demands to be given the Harking farm and he also requests that Richard and Jenna would be spared, a deal Maron agrees to. Together with Nora Recton and the Tom, they make their way back to the Harking farm, where they confront Richard, who decides to stall them in order to allow his daughter and friends to escape. Alan gleefully rubs his victory into Richard's face, though he is horrified when Maron decides to execute Richard on the spot instead of taking him in as agreed. His weak protests falter under a single threat and he ends up leaving Richard to his fate and running away. Thorns After Richard's death, Alan becomes an outcast in the city, due to his own role in it. Not able to enjoy his new riches at the Harking farm, being all alone now, he mostly spends his day drinking at the local tavern. There, some of the patrons, particularly Philip Loren and Axell Snow complain about his presence and Ilish eventually sees herself forced to escort him outside. Alan expresses some semblance of regret to her, though ultimately insists that what happened was not his fault. For this, Ilish once again steals his coin before sending him on his way back home. Appearance Alan is a man as tall as Richard, though lacking most of his brother's muscle. He is handsome, an elegant man, with short, dark brown hair and calm, charming eyes. His typical expression is a smug one, oozing not the confidence he wishes to show, but merely arrogance. He puts great pride in his appearance, probably too much even, considering himself it to be his prime feature. As a result of this, Alan clads himself in finest clothes, something that makes him look like a nobleman almost, even if these clothes cost more than he could afford. He'd rather starve himself than to be seen looking like a commoner, even if most of his social contacts are lowborn. Personality Most importantly, there is only one person Alan truly cares about and it is Alan himself. He is self-centered to disturbing levels, judging every situation after what he himself could gain out of it. On top of being selfish, Alan also has the habit of blaming others for his problems, never accepting guilt and downplaying his own involvement in others misfortune. He is charismatic, fast-talking and knows how to spin words and facts, to a degree where he can win over many people that would usually oppose him. However, if faced with a problem he can't talk his way out, he usually prefers to flee, to the point where he'd rather abandon most of his live instead of facing consequences for his actions. That is to say, Alan is not devoid of any positive trait. He can be brave, if pushed enough, even if he is a coward at heart. In the end, he even shows some fondness for his family, agreeing to help Jenna even if he blames her for his problems. While mostly selfish, there are a few people he seems willing to help even when not receiving much in return. Relationships Richard Harking The relationship between Alan and Richard has been very warm once, but has notably cooled off in the recent years, after Alan cheating his brother out of his inheritance indirectly contributed to the death of his beloved wife. Alan has, to this date, not even apologized for it, heavily downplaying his hand in this. Instead, he is demanding and entirely selfish, taking his brother for granted. In return, Richard is annoyed by Alan, though it should be said that he is at least trying to put a bit of effort into repairing their relationship. However, their relationship is ultimately doomed, when Alan, upset about being thrown out of the house, sells Richard out to Maron Mullendore. Though he poured some effort into making sure that his brother and niece will be spared, he eventually runs away and leaves Richard to his fate. Jenna Harking Alan and Jenna don't have a much better relationship. From her side there is, admittedly, little negative, as she is okay with Alan's presence in their household, even if she is annoyed by his selfish behaviour. However, Alan sees Jenna as the source of Richard's cold behaviour towards him, directly blaming her for his mishappenings. That being said, he still holds some fondness for his niece, as he is still willing to risk his life to save her from Wolfius. He also made sure that she would be spared even after her father was executed. However, his role in Richard's death gave Jenna a permanent and deep hatred of him. Irving Todd Surprisingly, Alan gets along quite well with Irving, recognizing a lot of his own problems in the man, given how selfish they both are. However, Alan is not above teasing the weaker man for his crush on Maya Iresons. Irving doesn't seem to mind, being glad to have found a soul with familiar problems, as they become splendid drinking buddies. Marak During their small meeting as they all three stay in Raylansfair, Alan gets along splendidly with Marak. The tall, confident warrior shows problems similar to those Alan is plagued with. This causes them to form an unlikely friendship, even if Marak having to leave Raylansfair cuts their time together a bit short. Kersea Catelins Though he does not really remember their initial fight, Alan and Kersea do not get along after being forced to live in the same house after Richard saved her life. She is disgusted by his cowardice, selfishness and overall sleazy behaviour, whereas he sees her as a threat to his family and most importantly to himself. Appearances Category:Characters Category:Book 1 Characters Category:Book 2 Characters Category:Raylansfair Category:Reachmen Category:Lowborn